Should I input my primary and secondary DNS servers as nameservers?

[itskando]

This thread shows that the nameservers include the user's dns servers.

Currently, my router IP is my nameserver 1.
Should I have added my primary and secondary DNS servers as
nameserver 2 and nameserver 3, respectively?

Edit: (with clarification)

Nameserver 1: Router LAN IP
Nameserver 2: Router DNS resolver 1 (Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1)
Nameserver 3: Router DNS resolver 2 (Cloudflare: 1.0.0.1)

 

[kdragon75]

Does your router have any dns records that your ISPs name servers do not? Are you doing and dns based filtering? If not, then sure, add them. This was if your router stops forwarding dns requesrs to your ISP, FreeNAS can query them directly. Have you done any research on how dns works? It's simple on the surface but gets complicated quickly!

 

[itskando]

Does your router have any dns records that your ISPs nameservers do not?

If I understand correctly, this would only be for intranet-style websites?
No.

Are you doing any dns based filtering?

If I understand correctly, this would be for blocking access to perceived malicious websites?
No.

If not, then sure, add them. [...] If your router stops forwarding DNS requests to your ISP, FreeNAS can query them directly.

Can you elaborate that?

My router DNS provides 3 options:
• default [8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (google's DNS servers)]
• ISP [208.59.247.45]
• custom [I use 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 (cloudflare's DNS servers)]

Are you saying that if my router stopped working,
my freeNAS server would route for my router until the router was back up?

This doesn't create a double-NAT scenario? Or,
are you saying it does create such a scenario, but
that's not a problem unless
any of the above questions you asked are true?

Have you done any research on how dns works? It's simple on the surface but gets complicated quickly!

Just the basics :j

 

[kdragon75]

If I understand correctly, this would only be for intranet-style websites?
No.

This could be used for all sorts of things. It could be "intranet" sites/servers but also for captive portals.

If I understand correctly, this would be for blocking access to perceived malicious websites?

This would be a bad way of doing it as most malicious DNS names/addresses are randomly generated by the thousands. You would be better blocking IPs and networks but you need to get the basics of IP routing, IP addressing, DNS, and NAT (PAT) before we get into security like that. Again, with the correct knowledge base, it all makes a lot more sense.

Are you saying that if my router stopped working,
my freeNAS server would route for my router until the router was back up?

No, FreeNAS would just query the DNS servers you list if FreeNAS needs to look up a DNS name. DNS has nothing to do with IP routing, only names. It's just a fancy phone book in the regard. Many websites use round robin DNS for load balancing buy sending a different IP every time their DNS server get a query but this has nothing to do with your setup.

This doesn't create a double-NAT scenario?

NAT has nothing to do with DNS. Start with in depth reading (of books not junk on the web) of the basics.

 

[itskando]

In this thread, I have used the phrase DNS servers frequently, but
is this an umbrella term and thus
are there several types of DNS servers which form each leg of the Domain Name System,
such as resolver, recursor, root nameserver, top level domain nameserver, and authorative nameserver,
as specified here and here?

Would it have been more specific to use the phrase DNS resolvers?
(Example: Cloudflare's DNS resolvers at 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1)

Thus, updating the original post:

Nameserver 1: Router LAN IP
Nameserver 2: Router DNS resolver 1 (Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1)
Nameserver 3: Router DNS resolver 2 (Cloudflare: 1.0.0.1)

 

[marcevan]

I find it odd that any NAS (free or true) has Nameservers as it's not the role of a NAS to have these in network topology.

I use a router/firewall which handles DNS quite well (DNS forwarder, DNS resolver, Dynamic DNS, etc). As long as my downstream devices use my router's IP for default routes, all is well.

To that end, the role of the NAS is to provide networked storage: code, media, documents, etc. I would never put development tasks into a jail and install any xAMP when that is better served on a development machine using a NAS for it's code repository and if need be setup a single server for apache, mySQL, etc.

 

[rogerh]

If the router stopped forwarding (or possibly caching) DNS it would probably stop routing at all. So the only point in putting further DNS server addresses in the computers on the LAN including FreeNAS is if you use the addresses of DNS servers the router is *not* using. Then it would be a fallback in case the DNS servers the router is using fail or can't find an answer. It will probably rarely matter, and usually just usiing the router address will give access to the servers configured on the router.

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

I find it odd that any NAS (free or true) has Nameservers as it's not the role of a NAS to have these in network topology.

The NAS does not provide recursive DNS servers but of course it uses recursive DNS servers. How else should it resolve hostnames on the Internet, to e.g. look for updates?

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

Nameserver 1: Router LAN IP
Nameserver 2: Router DNS resolver 1 (Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1)
Nameserver 3: Router DNS resolver 2 (Cloudflare: 1.0.0.1)

IMHO - no.

If you run a single home or small business network that is offline if your router or its uplink fails, anyway, then put your router's IP address into the DNS servers list and be done with it.

The option to have more than one is way more applicable to an enterprise context, when you have e.g. multiple Windows domain controllers. Then you put all of them into the DNS servers config, so maintenance of one of the two or three won't interrupt service.